Granules With Filamentous Coatings

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a granule comprising a core and a coating, wherein the core comprises an active compound, and the coating comprises filaments prepared from atomizing a liquid coating composition having the property that the liquid coating composition forms filaments upon atomization.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/397,986 filed Mar. 26, 2003 which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119of Danish application PA 2002 00473 filed Mar. 27, 2002 and U.S.Provisional application No. 60/391,839 filed Jun. 27, 2002, the contentsof which are fully incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to particles comprising a core and acoating, wherein said core comprises an active compound and said coatingcomprises filamentous substance. The coating of the present inventionserves both the purpose of regulating density of the particles andprotecting the particle from damage by being able of absorbing impactson the particle. The invention further relates to a process for themanufacture of such coated particles and to a process for themanufacture of said filamentous substance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to the art to incorporate active compounds such as enzymesinto dry solid particles or granules and thereby protect the activecompound from inactivation and/or protect the environment from theactive compound. Such particles or granules have usually been applied toother dry products such as dry granular detergent compositions toimprove their performance. Enzymes are an example of an active compound,which may be incorporated in dry solid particles or granules.

Known enzyme granule formulation technologies include:

a) Spray dried products, wherein a liquid enzyme-containing solution isatomized in a spray drying tower to form small droplets which duringtheir way down the drying tower dry to form a continuous film layerwhich encapsulate the enzyme-containing particles. Very small particlescan be produced this way (Michael S. Showell (editor); Powdereddetergents; Surfactant Science Series; 1998; vol. 71; page 140-142;Marcel Dekker).

b) Layered products, wherein the enzyme is coated as a layer around apre-formed inert core particle, wherein an enzyme-containing solution isatomized, typically in a fluid bed apparatus wherein the pre-formed coreparticles are fluidised, and the enzyme-containing solution adheres tothe core particles and dries up to leave a layer of dry enzyme on thesurface of the core particle. Particles of a desired size can beobtained this way if a useful core particle of the desired size can befound. This type of product is described in e.g. WO 97/23606

c) Absorbed core particles, wherein rather than coating the enzyme as alayer around the core, the enzyme is absorbed onto and/or into thesurface of the core. Such a process is described in WO 97/39116.

d) Extrusion or pelletized products, wherein an enzyme-containing pasteis pressed to pellets or under pressure is extruded through a smallopening and cut into particles which are subsequently dried. Suchparticles usually have a considerable size because of the material inwhich the extrusion opening is made (usually a plate with bore holes)sets a limit on the allowable pressure drop over the extrusion opening.Also, very high extrusion pressures when using a small opening increaseheat generation in the enzyme paste, which is harmful to the enzyme.(Michael S. Showell (editor); Powdered detergents; Surfactant ScienceSeries; 1998; vol. 71; page 140-142; Marcel Dekker)

e) Prilled products, wherein an enzyme powder is suspended in molten waxand the suspension is sprayed, e.g. through a rotating disk atomizer,into a cooling chamber where the droplets quickly solidify (Michael S.Showell (editor); Powdered detergents; Surfactant Science Series; 1998;vol. 71; page 140-142; Marcel Dekker). The product obtained is onewherein the enzyme is uniformly distributed throughout an inert materialinstead of being concentrated on its surface. Also U.S. Pat. No.4,016,040 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,245 are documents relating to thistechnique

f) Mixer granulation products, wherein an enzyme-containing liquid isadded to a dry powder composition of conventional granulatingcomponents. The liquid and the powder in a suitable proportion are mixedand as the moisture of the liquid is absorbed in the dry powder, thecomponents of the dry powder will start to adhere and agglomerate andparticles will build up, forming granulates comprising the enzyme. Sucha process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,991 (NOVO NORDISK) andrelated documents EP 170360 B1 (NOVO NORDISK), EP 304332 B1 (NOVONORDISK), EP 304331 (NOVO NORDISK), WO 90/09440 (NOVO NORDISK) and WO90/09428 (NOVO NORDISK). In a particular product of this process whereinvarious high-shear mixers can be used as granulators, granulatesconsisting of the enzyme, fillers and binders etc. are mixed withcellulose fibers to reinforce the particles to give the so-calledT-granulate. Reinforced particles, being more robust, release lessenzymatic dust (vide infra).

Known enzyme formulations are to day either “dry formulations”, i.e.consisting of agglomerates of solid particles, or “liquid formulations”,i.e. liquids containing solutions or suspensions of enzymes/enzymeparticles.

WO 01/25322 discloses a foam component, which comprises a mixture of apolymeric material, a dissolution aid and an active ingredient.

WO 01/24990 discloses a process for preparing a foam component, saidprocess comprises the steps of extruding a viscous mixture from arotating extrusion plate onto a receiving surface.

WO 01/25323 discloses elastic articles comprising a polymeric materialand an active ingredient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Reasons for formulating active compounds into particles, such aspreparing enzyme granules include (1) protection of the active compoundby separating it from the surrounding potentially hostile environmentuntil the moment when the active compound is to be used in anapplication and (2) reduction of potentially harmful dust which may begenerated from the active compound. Said protection of the activecompound and reduction of dust formation may, in accordance with priorart be aided or improved by coating particles.

Particles such as enzyme granules are typically valued and traded on themarket according to weight or activity of the active compound per weightof preparation therefore it is desirable to employ lightweight coatingmaterials. However, the coating material must also provide the aforesaidnecessary properties and functionalities to the particle or granule onwhich it is coated or preferably improve such properties andfunctionalities.

Hence one object of the present invention is to provide coated particlescomprising an active compound, wherein the coating is lightweight, butin addition also provide both adequate protection of the active compoundin the particles and an acceptable low release of active dust from theparticles upon handling.

We have found that coating materials comprising substances on afilamentous form may act as good coating materials, because they arepotentially of light weight due to the possible porous filamentousnetwork structure providing lots of gas pockets. Furthermore we havefound that substances on a filamentous form may provide elasticity tothe coating, thereby making the coated particle resistant to physicalstrain imposed on the particles, e.g. during manufacture, packaging andtransportation, where particles are often exposed to rough handling.Hence coatings comprising a substance on a filamentous form, due to itspotential elasticity and its potential ability to absorb physical strainand/or impacts may prevent and/or reduce breakage of the particles andthus both protect the active compound and prevent and/or reduce dustformation.

We have further found that at certain conditions it is possible to bringsubstances on a filamentous form by atomizing a liquid coatingcomposition comprising the substance and said filamentous substancesprepared in this manner result in excellent coating materials which infact possesses the above mentioned desired potential properties of beingboth lightweight and elastic.

Hence, the present invention provides granules comprising a core and acoating, wherein the core comprises an active compound and the coatingcomprises filaments prepared from atomizing a liquid coating compositionhaving the property that said liquid coating composition forms filamentsupon atomization.

The invention further provides a process for preparing coated granulesof the invention comprising contacting a granule comprising an activecompound with a coating, wherein the coating comprises filamentsprepared from atomizing a liquid coating composition having the propertythat said liquid coating composition form filaments upon atomization.

The invention also provides coated granules, wherein the coatingcomprises at least 40% w/w of a substance on filamentous form.

The invention further provides a process for preparing coated granulescomprising contacting, in a mixer apparatus or a roller device or bymeans of a spraying device, a particle comprising an active compoundwith a coating material comprising at least 40% w/w of filaments.

The invention further provides compositions comprising the granules ofthe invention and uses of said granules.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

When handling solid particles comprising an active compound, one of themajor problems is the formation of dust from the active compound, whichmay be harmful to persons handling the dry solid composition.

Although the active compound may be incorporated in dry solid particlesas known to the art, which may inhibit the formation of active dust itis a fact that conventional particles are usually solid and brittlewhich makes them susceptible to damage when a strain is applied to them,which might happen during handling such as manufacture, packaging andtransportation.

It is presently contemplated that active dust is released when theintegrity of such solid particles is damaged, e.g. when a solid particlebreaks or cracks. This may happen when the solid particle is subjectedto strain such as impact e.g. during handling. The strain/impact willcause a corresponding stress building up in the solid particle tocounter act the strain/impact. Upon increasing the strain the build upof stress in the particle to counteract the strain may continue to acertain point (the yield point) depending on the particle material.However, if the strain is greater than the forces upholding theintegrity of the solid particle (the yield point) the solid particle isno longer able of counter acting the strain and the strain will causedamage to the physical integrity of the solid particle, which mayrelease active compounds from the solid particle as dust.

Definitions

The terms “particles” and “granules” are to be understood as apredominantly spherical or near spherical structure of a macromolecularsize and coated particles are in the following referred to as granules.

The term “filament” is to be understood as a macromolecular object witha length to diameter ratio of at least 2, particularly with a length todiameter ratio of at least 50, more particularly with a length todiameter ratio of at least 100.

The term “liquid coating composition” is to be understood as the coatingfeed to be used in the production of filaments. The liquid coatingcomposition comprises a solvent, particularly water, and coatingmaterials e.g. a polymer.

The term “true density” of a compound as used herein, is to be construedas the density in weight per volume of said compound, determined byimmersing a weighed amount of the compound in a liquid in which thecompound is insoluble and measuring the volume increase of liquiddispersion (i.e. the volume of liquid which is displaced by thecompound). As an example, if 1 gram of a compound is added to a volumeof 10 cm³ of a liquid in which the compound is insoluble and by saidaddition the volume of the liquid-compound mixture increases to 11 cm³,the compound thereby displacing 1 cm³ of liquid, the true density of thecompound is 1 gram per cm³. The true density of a liquid may be measuredas the weight of a measured volume of the liquid.

Introduction

Some conventional methods of coating of particles employ atomizing aliquid solution of coating material to very small single droplets, whichdries on the particle to form a coherent continuous film coating layer.When coating particles according to these conventional methods it hasbeen desired to avoid processing conditions, which could interfere withthe formation of single droplets upon atomization and thereby interferewith the formation of a continuous film.

However, according to the present invention in stead of forming singledroplets in atomizing a liquid coating composition, we have found that aliquid coating composition may form filaments upon atomization duringcoating of the cores e.g. by adjusting the molecular weight of thepolymer in the liquid coating composition and/or the solid content ofthe liquid coating composition.

We have surprisingly found that said filaments can build up an excellentcoating layer around particles which gets a “ball of yarn” likeappearance. Furthermore we have found that the coating layer isconstructed as a porous network and due to the construction of saidcoating layer it contains a significant amount of gas pockets hence itis very light and has increased elasticity and thereby exhibit improvedimpact resistance. Due to the light weight of the produced coating it ispossible to increase the particle size with only limited increase inweight. The increased elasticity and accordingly improved impactresistance is resulting in a decrease in dust release owing to thedecrease in damage of the active containing particles.

The Granule The Core Particle

The core particle contains the active compound. Besides of the activecompound the core particle may be constructed in any way or of anymaterial, which provides the desired functional properties of the corematerial, e.g. the core may consist of materials, which allows readilyrelease of the active compound upon introduction to an aqueous medium.In one embodiment the core particle is constructed of a particulatecarrier (I) with the active compound absorbed and/or an enzymecontaining layer (II) applied on the carrier surface, optionallycomprising a protecting reducing agent. There may even be additionalcoating within the core material providing desired functional propertiesof the core material. Another core particle may be the so calledT-granulate wherein the active compound and granulation material ismixed to form granules incorporating the enzyme distributed throughoutthe core such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,991 e.g. Example 1.Any conventional methods and non-active materials may be used to preparethe core particle. Examples of known conventional cores particles andmaterials is, inter alia, described in, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,991 (inparticular), EP 170360, EP 304332, EP 304331, EP 458849, EP 458845, WO97/39116, WO 92/12645, WO 89/08695, WO 89/08694, WO 87/07292, WO91/06638, WO 92/13030, WO 93/07260, WO 93/07263, WO 96/38527, WO96/16151, WO 97/23606, U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,649, U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,297,EP 206417, EP 193829, DE 434-4215, DE 4322229 A, DD 263790, JP 61162185A, JP 58179492.

As a particular embodiment of the present invention the core particlemay be prepared by applying a layer of active compound onto a “placebo”carrier (active-free carrier) according to the methodology described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,689,297 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,649. Optionallyadditional active compound may be absorbed into the surface of thecarrier.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the core particle may alsocomprise a protective agent as described for the coating, vide infra,particularly mixed with the active in suitable amounts such as 0.1-1%w/w of the coated particle, particularly 0.1-0.5% w/w, e.g. 0.33% w/w.The protective agent may be an antioxidant, a reducing agent or amixture.

In one embodiment the core particle comprises an active compounddispersed in a visco-elastic liquid matrix having a η′ and a η″ bothbetween 10³ to 10¹⁴ Pa measured in a cone-and-plate rheometer at 25° C.and a sinusoidal frequencies ω of 1 Hz. The visco-elastic liquid makingup the matrix wherein the active and optionally other useful componentsmay in principle be any material or mixtures of materials which meetsthe requirements for viscosity and elasticity set for the visco-elasticcore particles, as described in WO 02/28991.

In particular materials may be organic visco-elastic materials such asliquid materials comprising, consisting of or containing organicpolymers and/or monomers. Materials such as carbohydrate polymers (e.g.pectins), proteins (e.g.) gelatin, sugars, glucose syrups, modifiedvegetable oils or mixtures thereof can be brought or formulated into aliquid state having visco-elastic properties as described above.

Particularly a majority of the components constituting the visco-elasticliquid matrix are water soluble.

The core particle should in particular be less than 700 μm or 600 μm,particularly between 50 and 500 μm, such as between 100 and 400 μm, mostparticularly between 200 and 300 μm.

In general the core particles may have a true density below 3 g/cm³,preferably below 2 g/cm³, more particularly below 1.5 g/cm³.

Active Compound

The active compound of the invention may be any active component ormixture of active components, which benefits from being separated fromthe environment surrounding the particle. The term “active compound” ismeant to encompass all components, which upon release from the particleupon applying the particle of the invention in a process serve a purposeof improving the process. Suitable active compounds are those, which areeither subject of deactivation and/or causing deactivation to othercomponents in the compositions of the invention. As said the activecompound may be present dispersed as discrete solid particles in thecore particle.

The active compound may be inorganic of nature such as bleach componentsas mentioned or organic. Particular active compounds are activebiological compounds which are usually very sensitive to the surroundingenvironment such as compounds obtainable from microorganisms. Moreparticular active compounds are peptides or polypeptides or proteins.Most particular are proteins such as enzymes.

The enzyme in the context of the present invention may be any enzyme orcombination of different enzymes. Accordingly, when reference is made to“an enzyme” this will in general be understood to include combinationsof one or more enzymes.

It is to be understood that enzyme variants (produced, for example, byrecombinant techniques) are included within the meaning of the term“enzyme”. Examples of such enzyme variants are disclosed, e.g., in EP251,446 (Genencor), WO 91/00345 (Novo Nordisk), EP 525,610 (Solvay) andWO 94/02618 (Gist-Brocades NV).

The enzyme classification employed in the present specification withclaims is in accordance with Recommendations (1992) of the NomenclatureCommittee of the International Union of Biochemistry and MolecularBiology, Academic Press, Inc., 1992.

Accordingly the types of enzymes which may appropriately be incorporatedin granules of the invention include oxidoreductases (EC 1.-.-.-)transferases (EC 2.-.-.-), hydrolases (EC 3.-.-.-), lyases (EC 4.-.-.-),isomerases (EC 5.-.-.-) and ligases (EC 6.-.-.-).

Preferred oxidoreductases in the context of the invention areperoxidases (EC 1.11.1), laccases (EC 1.10.3.2) and glucose oxidases (EC1.1.3.4)]. An Example of a commercially available oxidoreductase (EC1.-.-.-) is GLUZYME™ (enzyme available from Novozymes A/S). Furtheroxidoreductases are available from other suppliers. Preferredtransferases are transferases in any of the following sub-classes:

a) Transferases transferring one-carbon groups (EC 2.1);b) transferases transferring aldehyde or ketone residues (EC 2.2);acyltransferases (EC 2.3);c) glycosyltransferases (EC 2.4);d) transferases transferring alkyl or aryl groups, other that methylgroups (EC 2.5); ande) transferases transferring nitrogeneous groups (EC 2.6).

A most preferred type of transferase in the context of the invention isa transglutaminaseo (protein-glutamine γ-glutamyltransferase; EC2.3.2.13).

Further examples of suitable transglutaminases are described in WO96/06931 (Novo Nordisk A/S).

Preferred hydrolases in the context of the invention are: Carboxylicester hydrolases (EC 3.1.1.-) such as lipases (EC 3.1.1.3); phytases (EC3.1.3.-), e.g. 3-phytases (EC 3.1.3.8) and 6-phytases (EC 3.1.3.26);glycosidases (EC 3.2, which fall within a group denoted herein as“carbohydrases”), such as α-amylases (EC 3.2.1.1); peptidases (EC 3.4,also known as proteases); and other carbonyl hydrolases].

In the present context, the term “carbohydrase” is used to denote notonly enzymes capable of breaking down carbohydrate chains (e.g. starchesor cellulose) of especially five- and six-membered ring structures (i.e.glycosidases, EC 3.2), but also enzymes capable of isomerizingcarbohydrates, e.g. six-membered ring structures such as D-glucose tofive-membered ring structures such as D-fructose.

Carbohydrases of relevance include the following (EC numbers inparentheses): α-amylases (EC 3.2.1.1), α-amylases (EC 3.2.1.2), glucan1,4-α-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.3), endo-1,4-beta-glucanase (cellulases, EC3.2.1.4), endo-1,3(4)-β-glucanases (EC 3.2.1.6), endo-1,4-α-xylanases(EC 3.2.1.8), dextranases (EC 3.2.1.11), chitinases (EC 3.2.1.14),polygalacturonases (EC 3.2.1.15), lysozymes (EC 3.2.1.17),β-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.21), α-galactosidases (EC 3.2.1.22),β-galactosidases (EC 3.2.1.23), amylo-1,6-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.33),xylan 1,4-β-xylosidases (EC 3.2.1.37), glucan endo-1,3-β-D-glucosidases(EC 3.2.1.39), α-dextrin endo-1,6-α-glucosidases (EC3.2.1.41), sucroseα-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.48), glucan endo-1,3-α-glucosidases (EC3.2.1.59), glucan 1,4-β-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.74), glucanendo-1,6-β-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.75), arabinanendo-1,5-α-L-arabinosidases (EC 3.2.1.99), lactases (EC 3.2.1.108),chitosanases (EC 3.2.1.132) and xylose isomerases (EC 5.3.1.5).

Examples of commercially available proteases (peptidases) includeKANNASE™, EVERLASE™, ESPERASE™, ALCALASE™, NEUTRASE™, DURAZYM™,SAVINASE™, PYRASE™, Pancreatic Trypsin NOVO (PTN), BIO-FEED™ PRO andCLEAR-LENS™ PRO (all available from Novozymes A/S).

Other commercially available proteases include MAXATASE™, MAXACAL™,MAXAPEM™, OPTICLEAN™ and PURAFECT™ (available from GenencorInternational Inc. or DSM).

Examples of commercially available lipases include LIPOPRIME™ LIPOLASE™,LIPOLASE™ ULTRA, LIPOZYME™, PALATASE™, NOVOZYM™ 435 and LECITASE™ (allavailable from Novozymes A/S).

Other commercially available lipases include LUMAFASt™ (Pseudomonasmendocina lipase from Genencor International Inc.); LIPOMAX™ (Ps.pseudoalcaligenes lipase from DSM/Genencor Int. Inc.; and Bacillus sp.lipase from Genencor). Further lipases are available from othersuppliers.

Examples of commercially available carbohydrases include ALPHA-GAL™,BIO-FEED™ ALPHA, BIO-FEED™ BETA, BIO-FEED™ PLUS, BIO-FEED™ PLUS,NOVOZYME™ 188, CELLUCLAST™, CELLUSOFT™, CEREMYL™, CITROZYM™, DENIMAX™,DEZYME™, DEXTROZYME™, FINIZYM™, FUNGAMYL™, GAMANASET™, GLUCANEX™,LACTOZYM™, MALTOGENASE™, PENTOPAN™, PECTINEX™, PROMOZYME™, PULPZYME™,NOVAMYL™, TERMAMYL™, AMG™ (Amyloglucosidase Novo), MALTOGENASE™,SWEETZYME™ and AQUAZYM™ (all available from Novozymes A/S). Furthercarbohydrases are available from other suppliers.

The Coating Filaments

The filaments of the present invention are prepared from a liquidcoating composition. Said liquid coating composition comprises one ormore coating substances, preferably dissolved in the liquid coatingcomposition. In a particular embodiment of the present invention theliquid coating composition comprises a dissolved polymer in an aqueoussolution. The liquid coating composition may further comprise auxiliarycoating materials.

Coating Substances

The coating substances suitable for this invention are dissolvedpolymers in solutions which are able to form filaments when atomized.Said polymers are selected from but are not limited to the groupconsisting of waxes, polypeptides, carbohydrate polymers and syntheticpolymers. In a particular embodiment of the present invention the liquidcoating composition comprises between 1 to 95 wt % of polymer, in a moreparticular embodiment of the present invention the liquid coatingcomposition comprises between 25 to 75 wt % of polymer.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the polymer has amolecular weight above 1,000. In a more particular embodiment of thepresent invention the polymer has a molecular weight above 10,000. In amore particular embodiment the polymer has a molecular weight above100,000.

In a particular embodiment the liquid is water. In another particularembodiment the polymer is soluble in water.

Waxes:

The term wax as used herein is to be understood as a compound having amelting point between 20-150° C. Preferred waxes are organic compoundsor salts of organic compounds having a melting point in the said range.In the context of the invention the term wax as used herein alsoencompasses mixtures of two or more different waxes. Also, an importantfeature of the wax or mixture of waxes is that the wax should be watersoluble or water dispersible, particularly in neutral and alkalinesolution, so that when the coated particles of the invention isintroduced into an aqueous solution, i.e. by diluting it with water, thewax should disintegrate and/or dissolve providing a quick release anddissolution of the active compound incorporated in the particles to theaqueous solution. Examples of water soluble waxes are poly ethyleneglycols (PEG's). Accordingly amongst water soluble waxes the solubilityof wax in water should in particular be up to 75 parts wax to 25 partswater.

The wax of the invention may be any wax, which is chemicallysynthesized. It may also equally well be a wax isolated from a naturalsource or a derivative thereof. Accordingly, the wax of the inventionmay be selected from the following non limiting list of waxes:

-   -   Poly ethylene glycols, abbreviated PEG, type of wax. Different        PEG waxes are commercially available having different molecular        sizes.    -   polypropylenes or polyethylenes or mixtures thereof.    -   Nonionic tensides which are solid at room temperature such as        ethoxylated fatty alcohols having a high level of ethoxy groups        such as Lutensol AT80 from BASF having 80 units of ethyleneoxide        per molecule. Alternatively polymers of ethyleneoxide,        propyleneoxide or copolymers thereof are useful, such as in        block polymers, e.g. Pluronic PE 6800 from BASF Germany.    -   Waxes isolated from a natural source, such as Carnauba wax,        Candelilla wax and bees wax. Other natural waxes or derivatives        thereof are waxes derived from animals or plants, e.g. of marine        origin.    -   Fatty acid alcohols, such as the linear long chain fatty acid        alcohol NAFOL 1822 (C_(18, 20, 22)) from Condea Chemie GMBH    -   Germany, having a true density of about 0.96 g/cm³.    -   Mono-glycerides and/or di-glycerides, such as glyceryl stearate,        wherein stearate is a mixture of stearic and palmitic acid, are        useful waxes. An example of this is Dimodan PM—from Danisco        Ingredients, Denmark—having a true density of about 1 g/cm³    -   Fatty acids, such as hydrogenated linear long chained fatty        acids.    -   Paraffines, i.e. solid hydrocarbons.    -   Micro-crystalline wax.

In further embodiments waxes which are useful in the invention can befound in C. M. McTaggart et. al., Int. J. Pharm. 19, 139 (1984) orFlanders et. al., Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm. 13, 1001 (1987) bothincorporated herein by reference.

Polypeptide:

The polypeptide may be selected from gelatin, collagen, casein, chitosanpoly aspartic acid and poly glutamic acid.

Carbohydrate Polymers:

Carbohydrate polymers may be selected from pectin, starch, modifiedstarch, cellulose, modified cellulose, carrageenan, gum Arabic, acaciagum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, guar gum, polysaccharides e.g.Hyaluronic acid and dextrin. As employed in the context of the presentinvention, the term “modified starch” denotes a starch (native starch),which has undergone some kind of at least partial chemical modification,enzymatic modification, and/or physical or physicochemical modification,and which—in general—exhibits altered properties relative to the“parent” starch.

Relevant chemical modifications include, but are not limited to:esterification of hydroxy groups (achieved, e.g. via acetylation);etherification of hydroxy groups; oxidation (achieved, e.g. via reactionwith chlorine or hypochlorite); and cross-linking (achieved, e.g. byreaction with formaldehyde or epichlorohydrin).

Relevant enzymatic modifications include, for example, treatment with astarch-degrading or starch-modifying enzyme, e.g. an amylase, such as anα-amylase or gluco-amylase.

Relevant physical or physicochemical modifications include, inparticular, so-called gelatinisation. The term “gelatinised”, in thecontext of starch, is used herein in accordance with usage in the art(see, e.g. A. Xu and P. A. Seib, Cereal Chem. 70 (1993), pp. 463-470).

Synthetic Polymers:

Synthetic polymers may be selected from but are not limited to the groupconsisting of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA),polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, poly-acrylamide,polysulfonate, polycarboxylate, and copolymers thereof, in particularwater soluble polymers or copolymers. The coating may also contain oneor more conventional coating materials, in particular materials, whichare soluble or dispersible in water. Conventional coating materials aredescribed e.g. in WO 89/08694, WO 89/08695, EP 270608 B1 and/or WO00/01793. Other examples of conventional coating materials may be foundin U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,991, EP 170360, EP 304332, EP 304331, EP 458849,EP 458845, WO 97/39116, WO 92/12645A, WO 87/07292, WO 91/06638, WO92/13030, WO 93/07260, WO 93/07263, WO 96/38527, WO 96/16151, WO97/23606, U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,649, U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,297, EP 206417,EP 193829, DE 434-4215, DE 4322229 A, DD 263790, JP 61162185 A and/or JP58179492.

Auxiliary Coating Materials

The coating solution may further comprise coating materials selectedfrom solvents, enzyme stabilizers, salts, inorganics, plasticizers,chlorine scavengers, fibers, water insoluble minerals, pigments,lubricants (such as surfactants or antistatic agents), waxes,fragrances, hollow/light particles or combinations thereof.

Solvents:

Suitable solvents can be but are not limited to alcohols and water.

In one embodiment of the present invention the solvent is water, i.e.the liquid coating composition is an aqueous dispersion and/or solution.

Enzyme Stabilising Agents:

Enzyme stabilising or protective agents such as conventionally used inthe field of granulation may be elements of the coating. Stabilising orprotective agents may fall into several categories: alkaline or neutralmaterials, reducing agents, antioxidants and/or salts of firsttransition series metal ions. Each of these may be used in conjunctionwith other protective agents of the same or different categories.Examples of alkaline protective agents are alkali metal silicates,carbonates or bicarbonates, which provide a chemical scavenging effectby actively neutralising e.g. oxidants. Examples of reducing protectiveagents are salts of sulfite, thiosulfite, thiosulfate or MnSO₄ whileexamples of antioxidants are methionine, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)or butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA). In particular stabilising agents maybe salts of thiosulfates, e.g. sodium thiosulfate or methionine. Alsoenzyme stabilizers may be borates, borax, formates, di- andtricarboxylic acids and reversible enzyme inhibitors such as organiccompounds with sulfhydryl groups or alkylated or arylated boric acids.Examples of boron based stabilizer may be found in WO 96/21716, whereasa preferred boron based stabilizer is 4-Formyl-Phenyl-Boronic Acid orderivatives thereof described in WO 96/41859 both disclosuresincorporated herein by reference. Still other examples of useful enzymestabilizers are gelatine, casein, Poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) andpowder of skimmed milk. The amounts of protective agent in the coatingmay be 5-40% w/w of the coating, particularly 5-30%, e.g. 10-20%.

Salts:

The salt may be an inorganic salt, e.g. salts of sulfate, sulfite,phosphate, phosphonate, nitrate, chloride or carbonate or salts ofsimple organic acids (less than 10 carbon atoms e.g. 6 or less carbonatoms) such as citrate, malonate or acetate. Examples of cations inthese salt are alkali or earth alkali metal ions, although the ammoniumion or metal ions of the first transition series, such as sodium,potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc or aluminium. Examples of anionsinclude chloride, bromide, iodide, sulfate, sulfite, bisulfite,thiosulfate, phosphate, monobasic phosphate, dibasic phosphate,hypophosphite, dihydrogen pyrophosphate, tetraborate, borate, carbonate,bicarbonate, metasilicate, citrate, malate, maleate, malonate,succinate, lactate, formate, acetate, butyrate, propionate, benzoate,tartrate, ascorbate or gluconate. In particular alkali- or earth alkalimetal salts of sulfate, sulfite, phosphate, phosphonate, nitrate,chloride or carbonate or salts of simple organic acids such as citrate,malonate or acetate may be used. Specific examples include NaH₂PO₄,Na₂HPO₄, Na₃PO₄, (NH₄)H₂PO₄, K₂HPO₄, KH₂PO₄, Na₂SO₄, K₂SO₄, KHSO₄,ZnSO₄, MgSO₄, CuSO₄, Mg(NO₃)₂, (NH₄)₂SO₄, sodium borate, magnesiumacetate and sodium citrate.

The salt may also be a hydrated salt, i.e. a crystalline salt hydratewith bound water(s) of crystallization, such as described in WO99/32595. Examples of hydrated salts include magnesium sulfateheptahydrate (MgSO₄(7H₂O)), zinc sulfate heptahydrate (ZnSO₄(7H₂O)),copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO₄(5H₂O)), sodium phosphate dibasicheptahydrate (Na₂HPO₄(7H₂O)), magnesium nitrate hexahydrate(Mg(NO₃)₂(6H₂O)), sodium borate decahydrate, sodium citrate dihydrateand magnesium acetate tetrahydrate.

Plasticisers:

By adding various plasticizers to the polymer solution, e.g. PVA and/orGlycerol, different levels of tackiness of the filaments can beachieved, and the mechanical properties of the filaments can be changed,e.g. lower glass transition temperature (T_(g)).

Plasticizers useful in coating layers in the context of the presentinvention include, for example: polyols such as sugars, sugar alcohols,glycerine, glycerol trimethylol propane, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA),neopentyl glycol, triethanolamine, mono-, di- and triethylene glycol orpolyethylene glycols (PEGs) having a molecular weight less than 1000;urea, phthalate esters such as dibutyl or dimethyl phthalate;thiocyanates, non-ionic surfactants such as ethoxylated alcohols andethoxylated phosphates and water.

Inorganics:

Inorganics such as water soluble and/or insoluble inorganic salts suchas finely ground alkali sulphate, alkali carbonate and/or alkalichloride, clays such as kaolin (e.g. SPESWHITE™, English China Clay),mineral fillers, bentonites, talcs, zeolites, calcium carbonate, silicae.g. fumed silica and/or silicates.

Fibers:

Fibre materials such as pure or impure cellulose in fibrous form. Thiscan be sawdust, pure fibrous cellulose, cotton, or other forms of pureor impure fibrous cellulose. Also, filter aids based on fibrouscellulose can be used. Several brands of cellulose in fibrous form areon the market, e.g. CEPO™ and ARBOCEL™. Pertinent examples of fibrouscellulose filter aids are ARBOCEL BFC200™ and ARBOCEL BC200™. Alsosynthetic fibers may be used as described in EP 304331 B1 and typicalfibers may be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, especiallynylon, polyvinylformate, poly(meth)acrylic compounds.

Pigments:

Suitable pigments include, but are not limited to, finely dividedwhiteners, such as titanium dioxide or kaolin, coloured pigments, watersoluble colorants, as well as combinations of one or more pigments andwater soluble colorants.

Lubricants:

As used in the present context, the term “lubricant” refers to anyagent, which reduces surface friction, lubricates the surface of thegranule, decreases tendency to build-up of static electricity, and/orreduces friability of the granules. Lubricants can also play a relatedrole in improving the coating process, by reducing the tackiness ofpolymers in the coating. Thus, lubricants can serve asanti-agglomeration agents and wetting agents.

Examples of suitable lubricants are lower polyethylene glycols (PEGs),ethoxylated fatty alcohols and mineral oils. The lubricant isparticularly a mineral oil or a nonionic surfactant, and moreparticularly the lubricant is not miscible with the other coatingmaterials.

Waxes:

Waxes may be the ones described in the section “Coating substances”.Suitable waxes may further be water insoluble waxes, which aredispersible in an aqueous solution such as triglycerides and oils.

Examples of such waxes are hydrogenated ox tallow, hydrogenated palmoil, hydrogenated cotton seeds and/or hydrogenated soy bean oil, whereinthe term “hydrogenated” as used herein is to be construed as saturationof unsaturated carbohydrate chains, e.g. in triglycerides, whereincarbon=carbon double bonds are converted to carbon-carbon single bonds.Hydrogenated palm oil is commercially available e.g. from Hobum Oele undFette GmbH—Germany or Deutche Cargill GmbH—Germany.

Surfactants:

Surfactants may be non-ionic including semi-polar and/or anionic and/orcationic and/or zwitterionic.

Suitable anionic surfactants are linear alkylbenzenesulfonate,alpha-olefinsulfonate, alkyl sulfate (fatty alcohol sulfate), alcoholethoxysulfate, secondary alkanesulfonate, alpha-sulfo fatty acid methylester, alkyl- or alkenylsuccinic acid or soap.

Suitable non-ionic surfactants are alcohol ethoxylate, nonylphenolethoxylate, alkylpolyglycoside, alkyldimethylamineoxide, ethoxylatedfatty acid monoethanolamide, fatty acid monoethanolamide, polyhydroxyalkyl fatty acid amide, or N-acyl N-alkyl derivatives of glucosamine(“glucamides”).

Hollow/Light Particles:

Hollow/light particles are small particles with low true density.Typically, they are hollow spherical particles with air or gas inside.Such materials are usually prepared by expanding a solid material. Theselight spheres may be inorganic of nature such as SCOTCHLITE™ GlassBubbles from 3M™ (hollow glass spheres), Q-CEL® (hollow microspheres ofborosilicate glass) and/or Extendospheres® (ceramic hollow spheres)available from The PQ Corporation. The light spheres may also be oforganic nature such as the PM-series (plastic hollow spheres) availablefrom The PQ Corporation. Expancel® (hollow plastic spheres) from AKZONobel, Luxsil® and Sphericel® from Potters Industries and/or Styrocell®from SHELL, which is spheres of polystyrene. The polystyrene ofStyrocell® contains pentane which upon heating boils and expands or popsthe material (the reaction is comparable to the expansion of corn seedsinto popcorn) leaving a light polystyrene material of a low truedensity. Also polysaccharides are preferred, such as starch orderivatives thereof. Biodac® is an example of non-hollow lightweightmaterial made from cellulose (waste from papermaking), available fromGranTek Inc.

Some of the auxiliary coating materials and coating substances may be ona particulate form and as such referred to as particulate matter. In thecontext of the present invention the term particulate matter is to beunderstood as solid particles, particularly having a predominantlyspherical shape, having an average diameter in its longest dimension,which is less than the thickness of the coating, in particular particleshaving an average diameter in its longest dimension below 50μ. In aparticular embodiment the particulate matter can pass a 50μ×50μ sieve.In a particular embodiment of the present invention the fibers suitablein the present invention have a length in its longest dimension below1000μ and a width in it shortest dimension below 50μ.

Particulate matter and other coating substances can be selected from butare not limited to fragrances, hollow spheres, light spheres, fibers,salts, water insoluble minerals, inorganics, pigments, enzymestabilizers, protective agents, waxes, chlorine scavengers, lubricants(such as surfactants or antistatic agents) as mentioned vide supra, theparticulate matter and other coating substances can further be selectedfrom any conventional detergent ingredient as mentioned in the section“Detergents”.

It was found that the construction of the coating did result in acoating containing a significant amount of gas.

The gas component is to be understood as any gas or mixture of gases,such as atmospheric air, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, noble gases. In aparticular embodiment the gas phase component is atmospheric air. In aparticular embodiment of the present invention the gas componentconstitutes at least 25% by volume of the coating, in a furtherparticular embodiment of the present invention the gas componentconstitutes at least 50% by volume of the coating.

The coating may perform any of a number of functions in the particle orgranule, depending on the intended use. Thus, for example, a coating mayachieve one or more of the following effects:

(i) further reduction of the dust-formation tendency of a core particle;(ii) further protection of active(s) in the core particle againstoxidation by bleaching substances/systems (e.g. perborates,percarbonates, organic peracids and the like);(iii) dissolution at a desired rate upon introduction of the particleinto a liquid medium (such as an aqueous medium);(iv) provide a more elastic coating which improves the impact resistanceof the particle of the invention.(v) provide more functionalities to the particle e.g. fragrance, colour,reduce density, increase anti-agglomeration.

Process for Preparing Granules Preparing Core Particles

Methods for preparing core particles include those disclosed in theabove mentioned references, i.e. a) spray dried products, b) layeredproducts, c) absorbed products, d) extrusion or pelletized products, e)prilled products and f) mixer granulation products.

Methods for preparing a visco-elastic liquid core particle include thosedescribed in PA 2000 01459.

Methods for preparing a visco-elastic liquid core particles shouldalways contain the step of dispersing the active and optionally othermaterials, preferably in a dry solid particulate form, in avisco-elastic liquid matrix to a preferably homogenous dispersion. Thisstep could suitably be conducted at elevated temperatures to gain alower viscosity than that of the finished particles. However, due careshould be taken in not damaging the active by the heat. In this contextan important feature is that the visco-elastic liquid matrix has a lowamount of water, because the absence of water may make it possible toapply higher temperatures than if water was present withoutsignificantly damaging the active.

After preparing this mixture a number of different step can be appliedto prepare liquid particles from the dispersion.

In one embodiment the dispersion is cooled to freeze and the dispersionis crushed and/or grinded to obtain small particles of the frozenliquid.

In another embodiment the dispersion is processed while thevisco-elastic liquid matrix is in its liquid state by rolling thedispersion into a thin sheet of visco-elastic liquid material andcutting out pieces. This method resembles the way Italian pasta is madeby preparing sheets of material and slicing pieces of a desired shapefrom the sheet.

In a third embodiment the dispersion is extruded through a small holeand cut into small pieces

The particles obtained in the above mentioned is preferably rounded toachieve spherical or near spherical shape of the particles. This can bedone conventionally, such as in a Marumarizer. It is however preferredto use liquid nature of the particles to shape to particles. Byfluidising the particles in a fluid bed dryer and subjecting theparticles to heat the surface tension of the visco-elastic liquid matrixwill cause the particles to adapt a spherical shape. This procedure alsofacilitates any subsequent coating step because application of thecoating may be conducted after rounding of the particles, but while theparticles are still fluidised. In a fluid bed coating process thefluidised core particles are sprayed with a solution containing thecoating material(s), and the coating is deposited on the surface of thecore particles by evaporating the solution solvent.

Preparing the Coating

Preparation of filaments by atomization of a liquid coating composition:

One way of providing a liquid coating composition comprising a substancewhich upon atomization of the liquid adopts a filamentous form asfilaments is to adjust the rheolocical properties by adjusting themolecular weight of the polymer and/or temperature and/or solid contentof the polymer solution optionally in combination, it is therebypossible to obtain a liquid coating composition having a sufficientlyhigh elongational viscosity so that when atomizing the liquid coatingcomposition, filaments are formed in stead of single droplets. Suchliquids can be said to have exceeded the atomization limit. Theatomization limit may further be dependent on process conditions beingmethod or process parameters. Process parameters effecting theatomization limit can be but are not limited to temperature, pressure,air flow, liquid pressure e.g. during hydraulic atomization orrotational speed e.g. during centrifugal atomization.

Elongational viscosity of liquid solutions which are non-Newtonian,describes the resistance to extension, while the common viscosity termdescribes the resistance to shearing. Elongational viscosity isdescribed in Bird R. B.; Armstrong R. C., Hassager O. “Dynamics ofpolymeric liquids”, Volume 1: Fluid mechanics, John Wiley and Sons,Chapter 6, especially page 185-189, 1977, it is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

By atomization limit is meant the point at which liquids uponatomization forms filaments instead of droplets.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention one liquid coatingcomposition is atomized onto particles as filaments. In a moreparticular embodiment of the present invention two liquid coatingcompositions are atomized onto particles as filaments either applyingone filamentous coating after the other or applying the filamentouscoatings simultaneously.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the coatingcomprises above 60% by weight of filaments. In a more particularembodiment of the present invention the coating comprises above 80% byweight of filaments.

Adding particulate matter and other coating substances:

We have furthermore surprisingly found that the formed filaments may beused as an efficient way of layering particulate matter and othercoating substances, e.g. perfume, onto the surface of the particle to becoated, which allows for adding more functionalities/properties to thecoating being e.g. color, odor, increase anti-agglomeration, reducehygroscopicity, reduce density of the coat by increased porosity andimprovement in impact resistance of the granule.

Furthermore it is known that when some desirable detergent materials aremixed in liquid formulations undesirable reactions may take place e.g.acid/carbonate reactions, but when layered as dry particles as in thepresent invention it is possible to include both materials in theformulation.

One or more of these particulate matter or coating substances may beadded before, simultaneously with or after applying the liquid coatingcomposition which forms filaments.

Suitable particulate matter or other coating substances of the presentinvention are mentioned vide supra in the sections “Coating substances”and “Auxiliary coating materials”.

One way of adding particulate matter or other coating substances is in afluid bed.

Coating Methods:

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the coated granulemay be prepared by a method comprising the following steps:

-   -   (i) providing a liquid coating composition, which forms        filaments when atomized,    -   (ii) applying the liquid coating composition by the use of a        atomization device to an active containing particle in a coating        chamber,        the method may further comprise the following step:    -   (iii) applying particulate matter prior, simultaneous or        subsequent to applying the liquid coating feed to the active        containing particle in the coating chamber.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the coated granulemay be prepared by a process for preparing coated granules comprisingcontacting a particle comprising an active compound with a coatingmaterial, wherein the coating material comprises filaments prepared fromatomizing a liquid coating composition having the property that saidliquid coating composition forms filaments upon atomization duringcoating of the cores.

After leaving the nozzle the liquid coating composition and theparticulate matter enters a coating chamber. The coating chamber may beany of a number of coating chambers known per se. Thus said chambercould be in the form of a coating device, wherein the liquid coatingcomposition, the particulate matter as well as the active containingparticles to be coated enters the coating chamber in the upper partthereof. The active containing particles become coated and dried ontheir way down the coating chamber and leave said chamber in the lowerpart thereof. A representative example of said embodiment is shown inU.S. Pat. No. 5,993,549.

Alternatively, the coating chamber may be a fluid-bed apparatus, whereinthe coating composition incorporating the particulate matter asdisclosed above enters the chamber at the bottom thereof. The fluid-bedchamber comprises housing for containing the core particles to be coatedand a base plate positioned and arranged at the bottom of said housing.A particularly preferred embodiment of said apparatus is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,718,764, the contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

In a particular embodiment of the process according to the inventionsaid process comprises a combination of a fluid-bed coating and dryingof the particles whereby a first layer of coating material is applied tothe core particles at the bottom of the fluid-bed. The coated particlesthen rise through one or several draft tubes mounted vertically in thefluid-bed wherein the air-flow is increased compared to outside thetubes. As the coated particles rise through the tubes they will dry andafter leaving the tubes the particles will slowly drift to the bottom ofthe fluid-bed where they will re-enter the draft tubes for furthercoating. Since the coated particles are dried in said tubes, lessagglomeration and consequently more evenly coated particles areobtained.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,503 describes a fluid-bed Wurster coater, in whichone or more draft tubes, each containing a nozzle, are mountedvertically in the fluid-bed.

In a further embodiment of the process according to the invention thecoating chamber is a fluid-bed having a container and a circle of guidevanes, e.g. as disclosed in EP 0541759B1, EP 0436787B1, EP 0370167B1,and EP 0212397A2, all to Hüttlin.

The coated particle will typically be between 50 to 2000 microns. Whenthe particle is used in detergents it will usually be between 400 to 700microns and when used within the baking industry it will usually bebetween 50 to 200 microns.

The atomization device may suitably be selected from high speed rotatingdisk atomizers, pressure nozzle atomizers e.g. hydraulic, pneumaticnozzle atomizers or sonic nozzle atomizers such as described in theCourse Material from the Microencapsulation Seminar, held by Center forprofessional advancement on May 9 to May 11, 1990 in Amsterdam.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the nozzle used is amulti fluid nozzle. In a more particular embodiment the nozzle usedaccording to the invention is a two fluid nozzle or a three fluidnozzle.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the nozzle used is atwo fluid nozzle, wherein one medium is the particulate matter and theother medium is the liquid coating composition.

If the coating is applied to a core particles in a fluid bed thetemperature of the coating will typically be between 0 to 100° C.,particularly between 10 to 90° C., more particularly between 10 to 80°C. or most particularly between 10 to 70° C. The inlet air-temperaturein the fluid bed will typically be between 40 to 200° C., particularlybetween 40 to 100° C., more particularly between 40 to 80° C.

Using Preformed Filaments

An elastic coating with improved impact resistance can also be preparedfrom preformed filaments. The preformed filaments may during the coatingprocess build up a “ball of yarn” like appearance and the coating maybecome elastic and lightweight. The filaments adhere to the surface ofthe particles, e.g. by applying a molten wax e.g. PEG, nonionicsurfactants, or other adhesive material. One way of applying thefilaments to the surface of active containing particles is to mix thefilaments, adhesive materials and auxiliary coating materials togetherwith the active containing particles in a mixer apparatus. The filamentscan also be applied to the surface via a suspension of the filaments ina liquid, which is sprayed onto the particles in a fluid bed.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention the coatingcomprises 5-95% by weight of material in filamentous form. In a moreparticular embodiment of the present invention the coating comprises25-75% by weight of material in filamentous form. In an even moreparticular embodiment of the invention the coating comprises above 40%by weight of material in filamentous form. In a most particularembodiment of the present invention the coating comprises above 60% byweight of material in filamentous form.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the filament length isbetween 10 to 4000 microns, in a more particular embodiment of theinvention the filament length is 20 to 1000 microns, in an even moreparticular embodiment of the invention the filament length is 100 to1000 microns.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the filament diameter isbetween 0.5 to 50 microns, in a more particular embodiment of theinvention the filament diameter is between 5 to 30 microns.

Filaments suitable for this coating are natural or man-made filaments.The natural filaments are particularly plant filaments e.g. cellulosicfilaments, pure filamentous cellulose, cotton, or other forms of pure orimpure filamentous cellulose. Also, filter aids based on filamentouscellulose can be used. Several brands of cellulose in filamentous formare on the market, e.g. CEPO™ and ARBOCELL™. Pertinent examples offilamentous cellulose filter aids are Arbocel BFC200™ and ArbocelBC200™. Filaments from soft-wood or hard-wood. Man-made filaments suchas regenerated natural filaments, synthetic filaments as described in EP304331 B1 or mineral filaments. In a particular embodiment of theinvention the filaments are hollow. In a more particular embodiment thefilaments are hollow cellulose fibers.

The polymers used for these filaments are selected between but are notlimited to rayon, acetate, nylon, polyamide, acrylate, olefins,polyethylene, polypropylene, vinylon, polyester, polyvinylformate,poly(meth)acrylic compounds.

As adhesive substance following polymers are suitable: waxes,polypeptides, carbohydrate polymers and synthetic polymers as mentionedin the section “Coating substances”. The coating may further compriseadditional coating materials as mentioned in the section “Auxiliarycoating materials”. Conventional coating materials are further describede.g. in WO 89/08694, WO 89/08695, EP 270608 B1 and/or WO 00/01793. Otherexamples of conventional coating materials may be found in U.S. Pat. No.4,106,991, EP 170360, EP 304332, EP 304331, EP 458849, EP 458845, WO97/39116, WO 92/12645A, WO 87/07292, WO 91/06638, WO 92/13030, WO93/07260, WO 93/07263, WO 96/38527, WO 96/16151, WO 97/23606, U.S. Pat.No. 5,324,649, U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,297, EP 206417, EP 193829, DE434-4215, DE 4322229 A, DD 263790, JP 61162185 A and/or JP 58179492.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the adhesive substance is awax.

The filaments may be applied to the surface of an active containingparticle or granule in a coating chamber, the coating chamber may be anyof a number of coating chambers known per se. The coating may be appliedto the core particles using any conventional coating method such as in amixer or in a fluid bed. In a particular embodiment of the fluid bedcoating process, the fluidised core particles are sprayed with asolution containing the coating material(s) and the coating is depositedon the surface of the core particles by evaporating the solutionsolvent, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,772. Further suitable coatingmethods and apparatus are described vide infra in the section “Coatingmethods”.

If the coating comprises a wax and it is applied in a mixer the mixertemperature should be higher than the melting temperature of the wax.This will typically lie between 30 and 100° C.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the filaments are applied toan active containing particle in a mixer apparatus e.g. a Lödige mixer,a roller device or a spraying device e.g. a fluid bed.

In a particular embodiment of the invention one or more type offilaments is applied to an active containing particle.

It is further possible to incorporate particulate matter e.g. lightspheres in the filamentous coating by adding them to the coating chambertogether with the filaments. Suitable particulate matter is mentionedvide supra.

Compositions Comprising the Coated Particle and their Application

The invention also relates to compositions comprising the coatedparticles of the invention. The composition may be any composition, butparticularly the compositions are well suited for use in the feed,textile, food, baking and/or detergent industry. Accordingly thecompositions may be animal feed compositions, food compositions, e.g. inbaking; baker's flour, dough, or detergent composition, or to use in thetreatment of textiles or an additive to be incorporated in suchcompositions. Also the invention encompasses the use of the composition,e.g. for improving foodstuffs such as bread or for cleaning an objectsuch as a cellulose containing fabric.

Feed

In a particular embodiment of the invention we have found that thegranules of our invention are useful in animal feed compositions.

Baking

In a special embodiment of the invention we have found that ourdevelopment of coated particles comprising an active is useful in bakingindustry.

Within the flour mill and the baking industry the use of actives, suchas enzymes, is well established. Accordingly the invention providesbaking compositions comprising the coated particles of the invention, inparticular dough improver compositions or flour compositions comprisingthe dough improver.

When using enzymes in the baking industry certain enzyme activities arepreferred. Flour has varying content of amylases leading to differencesin the baking quality. Addition of amylases can be necessary in order tostandardize the flour. Amylases and pentosanases generally provide sugarfor the yeast fermentation, improve the bread volume, retardretrogradation, and decrease the staling rate and stickiness thatresults from pentosan gums. Examples of carbohydrases are given below.

Certain maltogenic amylases can be used for prolonging the shelf life ofbread for two or more days without causing gumminess in the product.Selectively modifies the gelatinized starch by cleaving from thenon-reducing end of the starch molecules, low molecular weight sugarsand dextrins. The starch is modified in such a way that retrogradationis less likely to occur. The produced low-molecular-weight sugarsimprove the baked goods water retention capacity without creating theintermediate-length dextrins that result in gumminess in the finishedproduct. The enzyme is inactivated during bread baking, so it can beconsidered a processing aid, which does not have to be declared on thelabel.

The bread volume can be improved by fungal α-amylases, which furtherprovide good and uniform structure of the bread crumb.

Said α-amylases are endoenzymes that produce maltose, dextrins andglucose. Cereal and some bacterial α-amylases are inactivated attemperatures above the gelatinization temperature of starch, thereforewhen added to wheat dough it results in a low bread volume and a stickybread interior. Fungamyl has the advantage of being thermolabile and isinactivated just below the gelatinization temperature.

Enzyme preparations containing a number of pentosanase andhemi-cellulase activities can improve the handling and stability of thedough, and improves the freshness, the crumb structure and the volume ofthe bread.

By hydrolysing the pentosans fraction in flour, it will lose a greatdeal of its water-binding capacity, and the water will then be availablefor starch and gluten. The gluten becomes more pliable and extensible,and the starch gelatinizes more easily. Pentosanases can be used incombination with or as an alternative to emulsifiers.

Detergents

The coated particles of the invention may also be added to and thusbecome a component of a detergent composition.

The detergent composition of the invention may for example be formulatedas laundry detergent composition for hand or machine washings includinga cleaning additive composition suitable for pre-treatment of stainedfabrics or a fabric softener composition, or a detergent composition foruse in general household hard surface cleaning operations, or acomposition for hand or machine dishwashing operations.

In a specific aspect, the invention provides a detergent additivecomprising the coated particles of the invention. The detergent additiveas well as the detergent composition may comprise one or more otherenzymes such as a protease, a lipase, a cutinase, an amylase, acarbohydrase, a cellulase, a pectinase, a mannanase, an arabinase, agalactanase, a xylanase, an oxidase, e.g., a laccase, and/or aperoxidase.

In general the properties of the chosen enzyme(s) should be compatiblewith the selected detergent, (i.e. pH-optimum, compatibility with otherenzymatic and non-enzymatic ingredients, etc.), and the enzyme(s) shouldbe present in effective amounts.

Proteases: Suitable proteases include those of animal, vegetable ormicrobial origin. Microbial origin is preferred. Chemically modified orprotein engineered mutants are included. The protease may be a serineprotease or a metallo protease, preferably an alkaline microbialprotease or a trypsin-like protease. Examples of alkaline proteases aresubtilisins, especially those derived from Bacillus, e.g., subtilisinNovo, subtilisin Carlsberg, subtilisin 309, subtilisin 147 andsubtilisin 168 (described in WO 89/06279). Examples of trypsin-likeproteases are trypsin (e.g. of porcine or bovine origin) and theFusarium protease described in WO 89/06270 and WO 94/25583.

Examples of useful proteases are the variants described in WO 92/19729,WO 98/20115, WO 98/20116, and WO 98/34946, especially the variants withsubstitutions in one or more of the following positions: 27, 36, 57, 76,87, 97, 101, 104, 120, 123, 167, 170, 194, 206, 218, 222, 224, 235 and274.

Preferred commercially available protease enzymes include ALCALASE™,SAVINASE™, PRIMASE™, DURALASE™, ESPERASE™, AND KANNASE™ (Novozymes A/S),MAXATASE™, MAXACAL™, MAXAPEM™, PROPERASE™, PURAFECT™, PURAFECT OXP™,FN2™, and FN3™ (Genencor International Inc.).

Lipases: Suitable lipases include those of bacterial or fungal origin.Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants are included. Examplesof useful lipases include lipases from Humicola (synonym Thermomyces),e.g. from H. lanuginosa (T. lanuginosus) as described in EP 258 068 andEP 305 216 or from H. insolens as described in WO 96/13580, aPseudomonas lipase, e.g. from P. alcaligenes or P. pseudoalcaligenes (EP218 272), P. cepacia (EP 331 376), P. stutzen (GB 1,372,034), P.fluorescens, Pseudomonas sp. strain SD 705 (WO 95/06720 and WO96/27002), P. wisconsinensis (WO 96/12012), a Bacillus lipase, e.g. fromB. subtilis (Dartois et al. (1993), Biochemica et Biophysica Acta, 1131,253-360), B. stearothermophilus (JP 64/744992) or B. pumilus (WO91/16422).

Other examples are lipase variants such as those described in WO92/05249, WO 94/01541, EP 407 225, EP 260 105, WO 95/35381, WO 96/00292,WO 95/30744, WO 94/25578, WO 95/14783, WO 95/22615, WO 97/04079 and WO97/07202.

Preferred commercially available lipase enzymes include LIPOLASE™ andLIPOLASE ULTRA™ (Novozymes A/S).

Amylases: Suitable amylases (α and/or β) include those of bacterial orfungal origin. Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants areincluded. Amylases include, for example, α-amylases obtained fromBacillus, e.g. a special strain of B. licheniformis, described in moredetail in GB 1,296,839.

Examples of useful amylases are the variants described in WO 94/02597,WO 94/18314, WO 96/23873, and WO 97/43424, especially the variants withsubstitutions in one or more of the following positions: 15, 23, 105,106, 124, 128, 133, 154, 156, 181, 188, 190, 197, 202, 208, 209, 243,264, 304, 305, 391, 408, and 444.

Commercially available amylases are DURAMYL™, TERMAMYL™, FUNGAMYL™ andBAN™ (Novozymes A/S), RAPIDASE™ and PURASTAR™ (from GenencorInternational Inc.). Cellulases: Suitable cellulases include those ofbacterial or fungal origin. Chemically modified or protein engineeredmutants are included. Suitable cellulases include cellulases from thegenera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Humicola, Fusarium, Thielavia, Acremonium,e.g. the fungal cellulases produced from Humicola insolens,Myceliophthora thermophila and Fusarium oxysporum disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,435,307, U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,263, U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,178, U.S.Pat. No. 5,776,757 and WO 89/09259.

Especially suitable cellulases are the alkaline or neutral cellulaseshaving colour care benefits. Examples of such cellulases are cellulasesdescribed in EP 0 495 257, EP 0 531 372, WO 96/11262, WO 96/29397, WO98/08940. Other examples are cellulase variants such as those describedin WO 94/07998, EP 0 531 315, U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,046, U.S. Pat. No.5,686,593, U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,254, WO 95/24471, WO 98/12307 andPCT/DK98/00299.

Commercially available cellulases include CELLUZYME™, and CAREZYME™(Novozymes A/S), CLAZINASE™, and PURADAX HA™ (Genencor InternationalInc.), and KAC-500(B)™ (Kao Corporation).

Peroxidases/Oxidases: Suitable peroxidases/oxidases include those ofplant, bacterial or fungal origin. Chemically modified or proteinengineered mutants are included. Examples of useful peroxidases includeperoxidases from Coprinus, e.g. from C. cinereus, and variants thereofas those described in WO 93/24618, WO 95/10602, and WO 98/15257.

Commercially available peroxidases include GUARDZYME™ (Novozymes A/S).

The detergent enzyme(s) may be included in a detergent composition byadding separate additives containing one or more enzymes, or by adding acombined additive comprising all of these enzymes. A detergent additiveof the invention, i.e. a separate additive or a combined additive, maybe formulated so as to contain one or more of the particles of theinvention comprising different enzymes.

The detergent composition of the invention may be in any convenient dryform, e.g., a bar, a tablet, a powder, a granule or a paste. It may alsobe a liquid detergent, in particular non-aqueous liquid detergent.

The detergent composition comprises one or more surfactants, which maybe non-ionic including semi-polar and/or anionic and/or cationic and/orzwitterionic. The surfactants are typically present at a level of from0.1% to 60% by weight.

When included therein the detergent will usually contain from about 1%to about 40% of an anionic surfactant such as linearalkylbenzenesulfonate, alpha-olefinsulfonate, alkyl sulfate (fattyalcohol sulfate), alcohol ethoxysulfate, secondary alkanesulfonate,alpha-sulfo fatty acid methyl ester, alkyl- or alkenylsuccinic acid orsoap.

When included therein the detergent will usually contain from about 0.2%to about 40% of a non-ionic surfactant such as alcohol ethoxylate,nonylphenol ethoxylate, alkylpolyglycoside, alkyldimethylamineoxide,ethoxylated fatty acid monoethanolamide, fatty acid monoethanolamide,polyhydroxy alkyl fatty acid amide, or N-acyl N-alkyl derivatives ofglucosamine (“glucamides”).

The detergent may contain 0-65% of a detergent builder or complexingagent such as zeolite, diphosphate, triphosphate, phosphonate,carbonate, citrate, nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylene-diaminetetraaceticacid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, alkyl- or alkenylsuccinicacid, soluble silicates or layered silicates (e.g. SKS-6 from Hoechst).

The detergent may comprise one or more polymers. Examples arecarboxymethylcellulose, poly(vinylpyrrolidone), poly(ethylene glycol),poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinylpyridine-N-oxide), poly(vinylimidazole),polycarboxylates such as polyacrylates, maleic/acrylic acid copolymersand lauryl methacrylate/acrylic acid copolymers.

The detergent may contain a bleaching system, which may comprise a H₂O₂source such as perborate or percarbonate, which may be combined with aperacid-forming bleach activator such as tetraacetylethylenediamine ornonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate. Alternatively, the bleaching system maycomprise peroxyacids of e.g. the amide, imide, or sulfone type.

The enzyme(s) of the detergent composition of the invention may bestabilized using conventional stabilizing agents, e.g., a polyol such aspropylene glycol or glycerol, a sugar or sugar alcohol, lactic acid,boric acid, or a boric acid derivative, e.g., an aromatic borate ester,or a phenyl boronic acid derivative such as 4-formylphenyl boronic acid,and the composition may be formulated as described in e.g. WO 92/19709and WO 92/19708.

The detergent may also contain other conventional detergent ingredientssuch as e.g. fabric conditioners including clays, foam boosters, sudssuppressors, anti-corrosion agents, soil-suspending agents, anti-soilredeposition agents, dyes, bactericides, optical brighteners,hydrotropes, tarnish inhibitors, or perfumes.

It is at present contemplated that in the detergent compositions anyenzyme, may be added in an amount corresponding to 0.01-100 mg of enzymeprotein per litre of wash liquor, preferably 0.05-5 mg of enzyme proteinper litre of wash liquor, in particular 0.1-1 mg of enzyme protein perlitre of wash liquor.

The enzyme of the invention may additionally be incorporated in thedetergent formulations disclosed in WO 97/07202, which is herebyincorporated as reference.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A liquid coating composition able of forming filaments upon atomizationaccording to the invention was prepared.

The liquid coating composition consisted of:

-   -   4 kg polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (Moviol 4-88 obtainable from        Hoechst, Germany) as polymer    -   0.4 kg glycerol (99.5%) as plasticizer    -   12 kg H₂O (demineralised) as solvent

The polymer was slowly dissolved in the water/glycerol mixture byheating for one hour at 85° C.

A GEA PrecisionCoater® was charged with 5 kg of active containingparticles; Savinase 12 TX® enzyme product. The liquid coatingcomposition described above was sprayed onto this batch of enzymecontaining particles using a nozzle pressure of 3.8 bars. The inlet- andout let temperatures were 90° C. and 58-64° C. respectively. Thiscorresponds to a liquid dosing rate of 59 g/min.

Continuously, Expancel®, light particles, was added co-axially aroundthe nozzle suspended in the main air stream. The Expancel® particlesserve two purposes. The first being control of the porosity of thelayers of filaments and the second is reducing the stickiness of thefilaments that otherwise would create excessive agglomeration of thefinal product.

The coated particles was characterised by their bulk- and apparentparticle density. See Table 1. These values are listed as a function ofamount of filament in % of uncoated material, which means that 10% iscorresponding to 100 g of uncoated particle is coated with 10 g offilamentous material.

TABLE 1 Densities vs. amount of filamentous material in weight % ofuncoated material. Bulk Tapped Particle density density density Product(g/ml) (g/ml) (g/ml) Uncoated 1.26 1.38 2.059 material,  0%  6% 0.790.87 1.806 12% 0.76 0.81 1.652 18% 0.63 0.67 1.368 24% 0.39 0.42 1.042

This example clearly shows a decrease in density by increasing theamount of filamentous coating material in the granule.

Example 2

The granules produced in example 1 were subsequently subjected to aspecial impact test. In this test the granules were individuallyaccelerated to a speed of 10 m/s and thereafter impacted directly at aquarts surface at an angle of 90°. All particles were subjected to 13consecutive impacts and the total amount of active enzyme proteinreleased was measured.

The results are shown in table 2. It was surprisingly found that anoptimal coating layer thickness was found. Applying either too little ortoo much material reduced the impact resistance. A thickness of thecoating layer corresponding to 10 to 15% by weight of uncoated materialwas found to be optimal for product and process conditions used in thisexample. When too little filamentous coating was applied the layer wastoo thin and flexible to absorb the impact energy, which then damagedthe standard PEG coating below. If a too large amount was applied thecoating layer strength became comparable with the under laying PEGcoating and correspondingly higher forces were transmitted into the PEGcoating by the plastic deformation of the filamentous coating.

TABLE 2 Active dust released after 13 impacts vs. amount of filamentousmaterial in weight % of uncoated material. Product Wt % of granuleActive dust after which are coating 13 impacts @ 10 m/s Uncoated 809ng/g material,  0%  6% 709 ng/g 12% 209 ng/g 18% 238 ng/g 24% 466 ng/g

Example 3

Uncoated Savinase granulate was produced as described in U.S. Pat. No.4,106,991 example 1 with the following exceptions:

-   -   Sodium sulfate was used instead of sodium chloride as filler        material    -   The enzyme concentrate (added as a liquid) contained also a        carbohydrate binder (Avedex W80 dextrin) and sodium thiosulfate        as an antioxidant.

Three granulates were produced by coating the above uncoated particlesin a Lödige mixer with:

A: 10.0% PEG 4000, 4.4% Titan dioxide and 4.4% kaolin (as reference)B: 10.0% PEG 4000 and 10% cellulose filaments (Arbocel BC200).C, 12.0% PEG 4000 and 10.5% cellulose filaments (Arbocel BC200).

The particles were heated to 55° C. in a jacketed Lödige mixer M 20. Thehot particles were sprayed with the polyethylene glycol 4000, which hadbeen heated to 60° C., during continuous mixing. After distribution ofPEG 4000 the granulates were layered with additional coating material4.4% titanium dioxide and 4.4% Kaolin (reference) or 10.0/12% cellulosefilaments during continuous mixing, TiO₂ being used as a whiteningagent.

All percentages are based on the weight of the dry uncoated granulate.

The granulates were sieved between 300 and 1200 microns.

TABLE 3 Measured bulk density of the three granules. Granulate Bulkdensity g/ml A 1.14 B 0.90 C 0.81

This example clearly demonstrates that the bulk density is lowered bymaking a fibrous coating.

The granulates were sieved between 600 and 850 microns and the bulkcompressibility was measured using a Stable Micro Systems TextureAnalyzer. The granulates were compressed up to a force of 10 kg with a20 mm piston, and the volume decrease was measured:

Granulate Volume decrease A 5.5% B 10.0% C 13.6%

The compressibility of the fibre coated granulates are significantlyhigher than for the reference. The higher compressibility is the largerdeformations the granules may withstand before reaching the criticalyield stress, where damage starts to occur. Consequently, the B and Cproduct will be more impact resistant than the reference product A.

1. A granule comprising a core and a coating, wherein the core comprisesan active compound and the coating comprises filaments prepared byatomizing a liquid coating composition which forms filaments uponatomization.
 2. The granule of claim 1, wherein the liquid coatingcomposition comprises one or more polymers.
 3. The granule of claim 2,wherein the one or more polymers are selected from the group of waxes,polypeptides, carbohydrate polymers and synthetic polymers.
 4. Thegranule of claim 3, wherein the polypeptide is gelatin, collagen,casein, chitosan, polyaspartic acid or polyglutamic acid.
 5. The granuleof claim 3, wherein the carbohydrate polymer is a polysaccharide.
 6. Thegranule of claim 5, wherein the polysaccharide is hyaluronic acid. 7.The granule of claim 3, wherein the synthetic polymer is polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl acetate,polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, polyacrylamide, polysulfonate,polycarboxylate, or a copolymer thereof.
 8. The granule of claim 2,wherein the one or more polymers are in liquid form.
 9. The granule ofclaim 8, wherein the one or more polymers are dissolved, suspended, oremulsified in the liquid coating composition.
 10. The granule of claim2, wherein the liquid coating composition comprises between 25 to 75% byweight of polymers.
 11. The granules of claim 1, wherein the liquidcomposition comprises auxiliary coating materials.
 12. The granule ofclaim 11, wherein the auxiliary coating materials are selected from thegroup consisting of solvents, enzyme stabilizers, protective agents,salts, pigments, fibers, fragrances, inorganics, plasticizers, chlorinescavengers, water insoluble minerals, lubricants, surfactants,antistatic agents, hollow particles or light particles.
 13. The granuleof claim 12, wherein the plasticizer is selected from the group ofsugars, sugar alcohols, glycerine, glycerol trimethylol propane,polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), neopentyl glycol, triethanolamine, mono-, di-and triethylene glycol or polyethylene glycols (PEGs), urea, phthalateesters such as dibutyl or dimethyl phthalate; thiocyanates, non-ionicsurfactants such as ethoxylated alcohols and ethoxylated phosphates andwater.
 14. The granule of claim 12, wherein the salts, pigments,inorganics, water insoluble minerals, hollow particles or lightparticles are in a particulate form as particulate matter and aresuspended in the liquid coating composition.
 15. The granule of claim14, wherein the particulate matter is predominantly spherical shaped andhas an average diameter in their longest dimension of less than thethickness of the coating.
 16. The granule of claim 1, wherein thefilaments are prepared by simultaneous atomization of at least twodifferent liquid coating compositions which form filaments uponatomization.
 17. The granule of claim 1, wherein the coating comprisesmaterials selected from the group consisting of solvents, enzymestabilizers, salts, inorganics, clays, plasticizers, chlorinescavengers, fibers, water insoluble minerals, pigments, lubricants,surfactants, antistatic agents, waxes, fragrances, hollow/lightparticles and combinations thereof.
 18. The granule of claim 1, whereinthe coating comprises at least 50% by volume of gas.
 19. The granule ofclaim 1, wherein the gas is atmospheric air, carbon dioxide, nitrogen ora noble gas.
 20. The granule of claim 1, wherein the coating comprisesfilaments prepared by atomizing at least two different liquid coatingcompositions which form filaments upon atomization.
 21. The granule ofclaim 1, wherein the coating comprises between 25 to 75% by weight offilaments.
 22. The granule of claim 1, wherein the coating comprisesabove 80% by weight of filaments.
 23. The granule of claim 1, whereinthe active compound is an enzyme.
 24. A granule comprising a core and afilamentous coating, wherein the core comprises an enzyme and thefilamentous coating comprises a porous network of filaments in an amountabove 60% by weight of the filamentous coating.
 25. The granule of claim24, wherein the porous network of fibers comprises one or more polymers.